‣ Oil palms are also the highestyielding , most efficient and cheapest vegetable oil crop . They need less than half the land required by other crops to produce the same amount of vegetable oil . Yet in some regions , oil palm cultivation has caused and continues to cause deforestation . Land that was once predominantly covered by primary forest , or which housed protected species and a high biodiversity , has been cleared in order to be converted into oil palm plantations . Likewise , some oil palm plantations have been developed without consulting local communities . Some have even forcibly displaced people from their land . Violations of workers ’ rights to fair payment and safe working conditions , and other malpractices have also occurred .
Reasons for RSPO
While the oil palm crop in itself is not unsustainable , production practices have exacerbated or created the environmental and social issues we have seen develop in the last few decades . In 2004 , in an effort to combat these challenges , the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil ( RSPO ) was established .
RPSO-certified oil palm growers are audited each year by an independent , accredited certification body . This verifies that their production processes adhere to the RSPO Principles and Criteria ( P & C ), a stringent set of social and environmental criteria . As a non-profit , international membership organisation , the RSPO unites over 5,000 stakeholders across 99 countries , from all sectors , including producers , processors , traders , consumer goods manufacturers , retailers , banks , investors , environmental and social NGOs and civil society organisations , thus creating a platform to transform how palm oil is produced , traded and sold . RSPO membership has more than doubled in the last five years and today , approximately 19 % of all palm oil produced globally is certified to RSPO standards ( Figure 1 ). The result of this gradual transition is an increasing proportion of palm oil in our products that has been produced and sourced in a sustainable manner . Despite widely reported malpractices in the industry , a growing number of players have committed to adopting more sustainable practices and have joined the RSPO to help achieve our common mission to make sustainable palm oil the norm . When grown sustainably and to RSPO standards , oil palm plantations and the environment can co-exist , ensuring that primary forests and secondary forests with high conservation value ( HCV ), including the habitats of wildlife , are not harmed . RSPO certification assures customers and concerned downstream consumers that the standard of palm oil production is sustainable . The RSPO currently has two certification systems : the P & C , which ensures that oil palms are cultivated sustainably ; and RSPO Supply Chain Certification ( SCC ), which ensures the integrity of the trade in sustainable palm oil . Both systems involve third-party certification bodies and are reviewed periodically so that RSPO standards remain relevant and credible for those involved in the palm oil sector and for the consumer . In the latest revision of the P & C in 2018 , strict new requirements were adopted that aim to transform the standard for sustainable palm oil across all three key pillars of sustainability : people , planet and
56 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981